Oregon 14, Portland 3: Ducks give freshman double-digit run support in first career start

EUGENE -- The Oregon Ducks hoped right-hander Jeff Gold would throw at least five solid innings in his first career start Tuesday at PK Park.

The red-shirt freshman gave them five-plus.

UOJeff Gold

While working into the sixth, Gold also enjoyed something that very few Oregon pitchers have experienced this season -- double-digit run support.

Kyle Garlick and Aaron Jones drove in three runs apiece and the Ducks rang up their highest run total of the season in a 14-3 non-conference win over the Portland Pilots.

Tyler Kuresa added a two-run double and scored twice as the Ducks (19-16) parlayed 10 hits, eight walks, three hit batters, and three Portland errors into their most lopsided victory of the season.

The win also was gave Oregon a 2-1 lead in their season series with the Pilots (12-21), and was the Ducks’ first win against UP in the five games played at PK Park since they resurrected their baseball program before the 2009 season.

Gold (1-0) hadn’t thrown more than 2 1/3 innings in any of his previous three relief appearances, but sailed through his five-plus innings Tuesday, allowing three runs on six hits with six strikeouts.

The toughest part of Gold’s assignment -– sitting in the dugout through Oregon’s seven-run third inning when the Ducks sent 12 batters to the plate against three Portland pitchers, including Pilots starter Matt McCallister.

“If we’re sitting in there for awhile, that means we’re putting up runs, so I’m not going to complain about that,” Gold said. “We were able to hit well tonight, which we haven’t been able to do consistently, so hopefully we can build on this.”

Ryan Hambright drew a bases-loaded walk to chase McCallister (0-3) after 2 1/3 innings, but Jones and Kuresa provided the biggest blows in the inning with consecutive two-run doubles to the gap off reliever Zach Nice.

In the fourth, the Pilots picked up two runs on Matt Mardesich’s RBI-triple and Riley Henricks’ sacrifice fly, while the Ducks came up with three more runs to push the lead to 10-2.

“More than the seven-run inning, I was impressed with the three-run inning after they scored two,” Ducks coach George Horton said. “We hadn’t been able to bounce back and win what we call a ‘skin’ where you just try to take it inning by inning, and that was a real positive.”

Portland’s Kevin Amijo led off the sixth with a double to left and went to third on Turner Gill’s single, which chased Gold. Mardesich then greeted reliever Joey Housey with a sacrifice fly to right, pushing home the Pilots’ final run.

Housey faced five batters, but came out of the game after feeling straining something in his pitching arm as he struck out Sam Westendorf leading off the seventh.

“It’s not fair to speculate at this point, but whenever you feel a little bit of pop or snap, it’s never usually good news.”

Porter Clayton and Brando Tessar also saw action out of Oregon’s bullpen and combined to shutout the Pilots on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts over the final 2 2/3 innings.

Notes: Horton also was pleased to see redshirt-sophomore Erik Bonn, the Ducks’ bullpen catcher, pick up an RBI in his first career at-bat with a pinch-hit ground out that score Stefan Sabol in the seventh inning with the Ducks’ 14th run. “Erik is one of the favorites of the staff and the players, because of the sacrifices he makes,” Horton said. “Every day at practice and during games, he’s down there getting the heck beat out of him … and I think the respect that a guy like Erik Bonn gets from the entire team is significant. He’s not a star, he doesn’t get to travel on the road very often, and it speaks volumes about him and his character.”